Ventilating spring cushion



Feb. 12, 1957 s. P. CRAN VENTILATING SPRING CUSHION Fi led June 10, 1954 Sambei P C 0126 L (Ittomeg 2,781,085 ENTILATING SPRING CUSHION Samuel P, Crane, Great Neck, N. Y., assignor to R. 0.

Kent Co., New York, N. Y., a copartnership consisting of said Craneand Stephen D. Kent Application June 10, 1954, Serial No. 435,660

6 Claims. (Cl. 155-182) This ven on, a e to sp ing: eat. u h ons of th t r PaHI t 1 c rc on f air h r thr ugh or: ntila ine p t-r ses- Ihe invention contemplates the provision of an inc-X,- pcnsive ventilating spring cushion adapted to be assembled with a minimum of labor, all of the main spring turns, inside of the border frame being designed to. be stitched, knitted or locked together against separation after being arranged in position, in which position a locking spring is pushed laterally into said turns. of a main spring, the locking being acomplished merely by. a straight substantially undistorted knitting wire passing through the interior of the locking spring and engaging and crossing a coil of each turn of the main spring. 7

The invention further contemplates. the, provision of simple and eiiective. stitching means-for the various spiral turns of; the main coil spring, said means employing a.

straight locking coil spring crossing and pushed into all o t said turns at the crossing points to interlace with. the ma np n at ppro m ly g r g e and a ubst n: tially, straight knitting wire arranged longitudinally inside i, as 9 n P i n and h y ni i g an cking he spiral turns of the main spring to the locking sprin'gf at thedesired intervals.

he invention further contemplates the provision of simple means for preventingv dislocation of the; locking spring, sai d means including indents at the corners ofthe border wire frame in which the knitting Wire is secured;

The various objects of the invention will be clear from thedescription whichfollows; and from the drawings, in whic V Fig. 1 is a plan view, of the assembled spring'portion of thecushion'as it appears preparatory-to the-insertion thercof within a suitable'ventilating cover.-

Eig Z is. a fragmentary perspective view of portions oi a'pairof 'adiacent-spiral turns of-themain coil spring, the lpciging spring and the knittingwire, showing-how said wir e'l stitches aligned coils ofthe turns tothe locking p i s,

Big. 3' is a fragmentary topplan view of oneformofthemeans for holding the end of the locking springto theborder frame.

Fig. 4 is afragmentary combinedvertical sectional view apd elevational view ofthe springs andthestitching wire viewed substantial y in the directionof theaxis of the locking spring.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top planview of "a typical lock ing structure for a main spring coil.

In that form'of'the invention shown herein, the main spring is arranged with one end ll thereof near the center o f the, cushion and the other end 12 near the wire border frame 1 3,- each of said ends being'preferably'bent to engagc a coil and thereby to hold thesprin'gends-in place. Said main spring is sufficiently flexible to enable itto be. bent into spiral formantlto provide'a number oi turns o r,convolutions .10 1, 101), 10c, 10d andjthelike asgbestgseenin fig; 1. The turns may .beclosely. adjacent. each other, or slightly spaced apart or even overlapping United States Patent 0 2,731,035 Patented Feb. 12, 1957 if desired, depending on the density of the spring structure required. Similarly, the pitch of the coils may vary considerably. The main spirng It is merely set within the generally rectangular frame 13, a border spring as 14 being mounted on and surrounding the frame. For econ omy of construction, there need be no direct connection between the main spring and the frame or border spring, but the turns of the main spring are substantially parallel to or concentric with the frame.

Simple. and inexpensive means are provided to secure the various turns of the main spring against dislocation from the proper positions thereof relatively to each other and to the frame. 13. Said means comprises the trans versely arranged preferably straight coil springs IS, 16 which, cross and are interlaced. with the turns 10a, 10b, 1G0 and. the like. throughout the length and width of the cushion-v approximately at right angles at the crossing points, and the straight knitting wires 17, 18. The wire 17- passes completely through the entire length ofthe locking spring 15 and thewire 18 similarly passes through the. locking spring 16. The. diameter and pitch. of the locking spring may vary considerably. As. shown, said springs. are. smaller in diameter than. the main spring and are. of relatively small pitch, though it will be. understood that the diameter of the locking springs. may Well be in creased' at least up to that of the main spring, if desired, withoutv adversely affecting the locking. action- To insure, the proper locking eifect, those corresponding coils as. 20a, 29b, 20c and the like of the various turns 10a, 10b, 16c and the like, which are arranged at or which cross a locking spring are moved into aligned relation to eachother in the direction ofth'e. axis of'the locking spring, as best seen. in Fig. 2, before the stitching operation by means of the knitting wire, is performed. The coils being flexible, they may easily be manually shifted or'compressed slightly if necessary to elfect such alignment, and hence the. coilsassume the same relative positions with respect to a selected number of! the coils ofthe locking spring.

As shown in Fig. 5, that locking coil of the locking spring. which extends between thepoints34, 24 and 35' islopen 'at'the, left and permits the entry'thereintoi of'one end part 36 of the lockable coil Zilc. of a mm of the mainspringdtl'when the springsare' pushed together. Similarly, the locking coil extending between the points 34a,' 24a-and 35a-is0pen at the left andpermitsthe other end part 37 of 'the'lockable coil 20c to enter therewithin. All of the lockable coils such'as 20a, 20b, 2ilc'and tlie like, are simultaneously locked or knitted'to the-lockingspring bypassing'the knitting wire 17'01' ld'through the entirelength of and inside of the-locking spring, and" preferably orrthesameside of, and in-the same relation to, thecorresponding coils 212a, 2912', 29c etc.-, of the'varioustuins. Such locking is readily accomplished by'meansofa'suiF ablern'eedle-like member carrying the knitting wire, the memberbeing" thrust rapidly and effectively through the locking springto arrange the wire between tlie coilsof the locking spring and the lockable coils of'themain spring as:.-the- Wire advances throughithe locking spring.

The lockable coils are preferably. aligned, .orin other words, they. are arranged'in' thetsametrelative; positions;

. with respect to each other and withrespecttothezrespective lefthand end, the wire is passedtothe. outside ofand aroundtheframe 13. The wireis then carried. across. the cushion to the upper, right hand end of the spring 16 andpassed. through said spring to.the lower lfth'ahd' endthereof, then carried around the frame andacross the 3 a) cushion to the point of beginning and there joined to the other end of the wire length by twisting or the like as at 23 (Fig. 1). Obviously, two separate lengths of wire may be used, each end of each wire being secured to the frame or to the end portion of the adjacent locking spring. Preferably though not necessarily, the springs 15, 16 and the interiorwires 17,18 therein, are arranged diagonally or diametrically of the cushion and of the frame. To prevent shifting of the ends of said springs along the frame, a suitable indent as 21 is made at each corner of the frame. The end of the locking spring is secured to the indent at the bend 22 thereof in any suitable manner as by means of the end loop on the locking spring as best seen in Fig. 3. As many locking springs as is deemed necessary are used, but I have found that two such diagonally arranged intersecting springs are sufficient for normal purposes. If desired, the indents at the corners may be omitted, and if the frame is rectangular in outline the springs may be arranged to extend from about the middle of one side or end edge to the middle of the opposite side or end edge. Whatever the shape of the frame, two crossing locking springs hold each of the various turns of the main spring at four points at least, that is, at two points of each turn on opposite sides re spectively' of the cushion for each locking spring, thereby adequately preventing undue displacement of the turns. It will be understood that to interlace the locking spring with the turns of the main spring, the straight locking spring is arranged to cross the turns, as for example, by resting on top of the main spring turns, the locking spring being then pushed downwardly or downwardly'an'd transversely into the main spring turns until the axis of the locking spring is substantially coplanar with the axis of the turns as best seen in Fig. 4.

The coils 20a, 20b and the like of the main spring turns may possibly assume various positions with respect to' the knitting wire, depending on the positions in which said coils are aligned prior to the stitching thereof by said wire. As shown in Fig. 5, the diametrically opposed parts 36 and 37 of the lockable coils 200 are on the same side, namely, the right hand side of the knitting wire so that neither of said parts 36 or 37 can leave the locking coil Within which it is confined. That is, neither part can move more than the inner diameter of the locking coil because the wire limits such movement toward the left and bridges the gap or space between end points as 34 and 35 of the locking coil of the locking spring at the space where the coil 20c might leave the locking coil, which is the same space through which the coil entered the locking coil. Movement of the coil 20c toward the right is prevented by the intermediate parts 24, 24a of the respective locking coils. Should one part as 36 of the lockable coil 20c become arranged on the left hand side of the knitting wire during the stitching operation at the space between the ends 34 and 35 of the locking coil, the other end of said lockable coil 200 is nevertheless adequately locked in place between the wire and the part 24a ofthe locking coil. Should it be noted during the stitching operation that the part as 36 of the lockable coil is not in the proper position, it may readily be pushed manually into position for locking. That is, the part 36 may be in the wrong place in the isosceles triangle which constitutes the horizontal projection of the locking coil and the bridging part of the wire 18, the wire being the base of'the triangle and the coil parts 34, 24 and 24, 35 being the equal sides of the triangle. In that case, said part 36 is merely moved, as it easily can be, to the-proper 'positionwithin the triangle mentioned to permit the Wire 18 to pass to the left of said part 36 as viewed in Fig. 5. Normally, at least some one point of a coil of the main spring will fall or be caused to fall within the looking spring to be confined between the knitting wire and a locking coil of the locking spring, so that the maximum possible movement of the lockable or locked coil of the main spring is limited to less than the inner diameter of enemas r the locking spring. Ordinarily and preferably, two opposed parts 36 and 37 of the lockable coil of the main spring are confined as described inside of the locking coil, though in some cases only one of said parts of a partic-- ular coil may be caught and locked and the other missed, or only one point of each lockable coil may be deliberately caught and locked if desired.

Optionally, an additional auxiliary spring as 25, (Fig. 1) may be attached to or be passed around selected sides of the frame as at 26, 27 and 28 and cross a number of the turns of the main spring, thereby to increase the density of the coils in the cushion. The ends of the spring are secured to the main spring by bending said ends as at 29, 30. Said auxiliary spring may be woven over and under the respective alternate turns of the main spring to form a better lock, if desired.

It will now be seen that I have provided a simple, economical but elficient ventilating cushion quickly and easily assembled and well designed to cany out the objects of the invention. While certain specific forms of the invention have herein been shown and described, various obvi ous changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention defined by the appended claims.

I claim: r

1. In a ventilating spring cushion having a plurality of rows of' spring coils, means for securing said rows against displacement comprising a locking coil spring having a substantially straight axis and interlaced. with and crossing successive rows, and a substantially straight knitting wire confined loosely within the interior'of the'locking spring in substantially parallel relation to the axis of the spring, said wire passing through and confining a spring coil of each row within the interior of the locking spring at a point where the locking springcrosses'the row.

' pair 2. The spring cushion of claim 1, the knitting wire being adapted to be inserted into its operative position within the locking spring by a single straight line movement, the locking spring crossing the rows at approxi-' mately right angles and being adapted to be confined within the rows at the crossing points by a pushing movement. 7 3. In a ventilating spring cushion, a main coil spring having a plurality of turns arranged in a spiral, and a of helically coiled locking springs arranged diametrically of the cushion and crossing each other and also crossing and interlaced with the turns of the main spring, part of a lockable coil of the main spring being arranged within the interior of a locking coil of the locking spring at each crossing point of the locking springs and the turns, the locking spring being adapted for assembly with the main spring by pushing the springs laterally together until the axes thereof are coplanar. g Y

4. The spring cushion of claim 3, and a straight knitting wire arranged longitudinally within the interior of locking spring and bridging the locking coil in'a position beyond said part of the lockable coil and thereby confining the lockable coil within and against movement but of the inside of the locking coil, the horizontal projection of the locking coil and the bridging portion of the straight portion of the straight wire.

wire being substantially an isosceles triangle, of which said bridging portionis the base and the locking coil the two equal sides, said part of the lockable coil being permanently confined within the triangle by the bridging 5. In a ventilating cushion having a main spring'pro vided with a plurality of substantially concentric turns, the improvement comprising a locking spring having helical coils of uniform diameter substantially perpendicularly crossing and interlaced successively with the respective consecutive turns of the main spring, said springs being adapted to be interlaced by pushing the springs together, one part of a lockable coil of each of the successive turns of the main spring being arranged within the interior of a locking coil of the locking spring, the other opposite of a different locking coil of the locking spring, and a straight wire loose within the interior of the locking spring and extending past both said parts of the lockable coil in position to confine said parts within the respective locking coils, said wire being insertable and confined Within the aforesaid coils of said springs by a single straight line movement.

6. In a ventilating spring cushion, a plurality of rows of spring coils, the axes of the respective rows being coplanar, and means for securing said rows at respective corresponding aligned points thereof in the coplanar relation thereof and against substantial transverse and longitudinal displacement at said points comprising a locking coil spring crossing said rows at said points, the axis of the locking spring being substantially straight and coplanar with the axes of the rows, corresponding parts of the respective rows being aligned, each of said parts embracing a number of coils of the locking spring and entering into the interior space in one of said coils of the locking spring adjacent one of the aligned crossing points, and a knitting wire arranged within the interior of the locking spring and bridging the spaces between the respective points where each coil of the locking spring begins and where the coil ends, said respective points of beginning and ending being aligned, said wire being straight and passing substantially perpendicularly through said rows consecutively at said aforementioned crossing points, the horizontal projection of the coil of the locking spring and of the bridging portion of the wire at each of said crossing points being a triangle of which the bridging portion constitutes the base and the coil of the locking spring constitutes the other two sides, said corresponding parts of the respective rows being confined Within the triangle by the bridging portion of the wire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,457,245 Harley May 29, 1923 1,788,867 Hanauer Jan. 13, 1931 1,911,276 Harley May 30, 1933 1,964,950 Karr July 3, 1934 2,129,353 Harley Sept. 6, 1938 2,265,426 Foster Dec. 9, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 204,802 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1939 

